Absa Bank Kenya partners with IFC’s Sourcing2Equal Program to enhance gender diversity in procurement. The initiative supports women-led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs) by providing training and increasing access to corporate contracts. Key achievements include a notable increase in women-owned businesses within their supply chain, and Absa’s commitment to financial literacy for WSMEs underlines their efforts to empower marginalized groups.
Absa Bank Kenya, a major banking institution in the nation, has collaborated with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to enhance gender diversity in its supply chain. This partnership is part of the Sourcing2Equal Program, a three-year initiative launched in 2021 to promote gender-inclusive sourcing. The program has significantly supported Kenyan women-led small and medium enterprises (WSMEs) by improving their access to corporate procurement while also preparing corporates to increase their purchasing from women-owned businesses.
The Sourcing2Equal Kenya program has positively impacted over 1,500 women entrepreneurs through various capacity-building initiatives, including procurement readiness training and strategic matchmaking with larger corporations. Through this initiative, over 150 procurement contracts have been awarded to women entrepreneurs, thus fostering significant growth in this demographic.
Fredrick Adungo, Absa Bank Kenya’s manager for Sustainability, ESG, Green Finance, Climate Risk, and Reporting, emphasizes the significance of diversity in their operations. Absa Bank, which is part of Absa Group Limited, aims to empower marginalized groups and includes a commitment to diversify its supply chain by integrating at least 30 percent women, youth, and persons with disabilities by the year 2025.
Engagement with the Sourcing2Equal Diagnostic Tool facilitated a deeper understanding of Absa’s procurement landscape, revealing that only six percent of its suppliers represented underrepresented groups. By leveraging the insights from IFC’s assessment, Absa has revised its supplier diversity policy to include special groups in its procurement processes.
Absa’s collaboration with IFC resulted in the implementation of a supplier diversity policy and the establishment of a supplier webpage intended to enhance capacity building and facilitate prequalification for diverse suppliers. Noteworthy initiatives included buyer/supplier workshops and in-house training sessions, which produced tangible results with over 600 suppliers receiving training.
As a result of these commitments, Absa allocated 15 percent of its supply chain to women-owned businesses and is observing a consistent increase in diversity within its supplier base—from 10.3 percent in 2022 to 15.5 percent in 2023. By December 2024, this figure is projected to rise to 18 percent. Women-led businesses within Absa’s supply chain span various sectors, highlighting their integration and essential role.
Absa is also addressing access to finance, a critical challenge for women entrepreneurs. They not only procure from these groups but also offer supply chain financing support. Initiatives include financial literacy workshops, which have trained over 50,000 WSMEs in Kenya, showcasing Absa’s commitment to empowering women in business.
Reflecting on their journey, Mr. Adungo acknowledges the importance of partnerships in achieving their diversification goals. The collaborations have been vital in identifying suppliers and providing essential training, ultimately demonstrating that diversity and inclusion can significantly enhance organizational resilience while fostering broader social impact.
In summary, Absa Bank Kenya’s unwavering commitment to diversifying its supply chain through the Sourcing2Equal Program has yielded substantial benefits both for women-led businesses and for the bank itself. The proactive measures taken to assess and enhance procurement practices have significantly increased inclusivity within their supply chain. Moving forward, continued collaboration with partners such as the IFC is vital in sustaining this momentum and addressing the barriers faced by women entrepreneurs in the region.
Original Source: www.ifc.org
